-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The University of North Dakota is one step closer to retiring its nickname and mascot , but changing the school 's 90-year-old Native American moniker -- the Fighting Sioux -- has not been without complications .

The school faces a Monday deadline to comply with the NCAA 's policy on mascots `` deemed hostile or abusive toward Native Americans . ''

School officials were in the process of coming up with a new name and mascot this year until North Dakota legislators passed a law ordering them to stop , according to UND spokesman Peter Johnson .

The rock and the hard place the school finds itself between marks the last gasp of a decades-long fight not just in North Dakota , but in all of college sports -- the climax -LRB- or nadir , depending on some people 's perspective -RRB- of a nostalgia-imbued resistance to political correctness on the playing field .

The kerfuffle at hand dates to 2007 , when the North Dakota Board of Higher Education agreed to retire the Fighting Sioux nickname by August 15 , 2011 , in accordance with the NCAA 's then-2-year-old policy on Native American mascots . If they ultimately chose not to do so , costly NCAA sanctions were promised , including the inability to host any championships and a ban on the use of the school 's logo or nickname at any championship events .

After Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed House Bill 1263 into law this year , the school was left with the dilemma of having to either disobey the government that controls its purse-strings or to flout the rules of the NCAA , the entity that controls the arguably mightier purse-strings of college football .

The nickname controversy appeared to be closer to a resolution Friday when Dalrymple and other state officials traveled to Indianapolis to meet with NCAA officials in a last-ditch effort to resolve the matter .

`` It 's our understanding coming out of this meeting that the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo will be dropped , '' the NCAA quoted its Vice President for Communications Bob Williams as saying Friday . `` The contingent from North Dakota made it clear that they were committed to changing the legislative action that would require retention of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo . However , our settlement agreement remains in effect , and , as a result , the University of North Dakota will be subject to the policy effective Aug. 15 . ''

Doug Fullerton will be paying close attention to what happens Monday . As commissioner of the Big Sky Conference , he is overseeing North Dakota 's ascent from Division II obscurity to the far more lucrative stage of Division I football .

`` When we invited -LRB- North Dakota 's football team -RRB- into the -LRB- Big Sky -RRB- conference this was not an issue , '' he said . Citing the conference 's `` close , close ties to Native American tribes '' and the promise of boycotts from other Division I schools if the name goes unchanged , he says the school 's membership in the conference `` could be in jeopardy . ''

The school is set to join the conference July 1 , 2012 .

According to an NCAA press release , Dalrymple said at the Friday meeting that he would appeal to the state legislature `` to allow legislation to be introduced during a special session on Nov. 7 that will transfer the responsibility for the logo and nickname from the legislature back to the Board of Higher Education . ''

`` I have come to the conclusion that the cost of retaining the Sioux logo is too great , '' the NCAA press release quoted Dalrymple as saying . `` There 's no question that the settlement agreement will stand according to the NCAA , and there will be no further negotiations . ''

The usage of Native American imagery in college athletics has been a long-simmering controversy . Such schools as Stanford University and New York 's St. John 's University , elected to drop their nicknames -LRB- the Stanford Indians became the Cardinals in 1972 , then the Cardinal in 1981 ; the St. John 's Red Men became the Red Storm in the mid - '90s -RRB- , while others , like the University of North Dakota , balked .

In 2000 , for example , then-UND president Charles Kupchella tried to retire the Fighting Sioux until a wealthy alum threatened to withhold a $ 100 million donation for a new hockey arena , an episode chronicled by author Deni Elliot in her book `` The Kindness of Strangers : Philanthropy and Higher Education . '' Today , the school 's state-of-the-art rink not only bears that donor 's name , it 's decorated with more than 2,000 Fighting Sioux logos .

In 2005 , the NCAA sought to end the controversy surrounding Native American mascots once and for all by ordering nearly 20 schools whose nicknames and mascots they deemed `` abusive in terms of race , ethnicity or national origin '' to either get Native American permission to use their name and likeness , or to come up with a new one .

The resulting actions among the targeted schools were varied . The Arkansas State Indians became the Red Wolves ; the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indians became the Crimson Hawks .

Other schools satisfied the mandate by tweaking their name , like Southeastern Oklahoma State , where the Savages are now known as the Savage Storm . Others , like the Bradley University Braves , whose name does not affiliate with a specific tribe , were allowed to keep their name so long as Native American logos and imagery were eschewed .

Schools with higher-profile athletic programs fared better . The Florida State Seminoles , University of Utah Utes and the Central Michigan University Chippewas each obtained permission from their respective namesake tribes to stay the course .

But the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota -- winners of seven national championships in men 's ice hockey -- was denied such an endorsement from the Tribal Council of the Standing Rock Sioux .

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University of North Dakota faces a Monday deadline to change its Fighting Sioux nickname

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The state legislature passed a law this year ordering the school to continue using the name

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The school faces NCAA sanctions if it continues to use the Native American mascot

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Governor has indicated he will comply with NCAA , ask legislature to change law